If a Childrens dermatologist said this to you..

[AmberHiker]

When my son turned 7 out of no where he got a rash , that then signalled two years of back to back episodes of welts,hives, rashes , and to the point his whole body bar his feet has been affected. We have been mainly under the gp who dishes out emolienfs , steroids , bath treatments and advice. I paid private last year to be seen at the hospital under the children’s team who did no testing but wrote a report and chucked the term itchyosis in there ( son doesn’t have this ) said my child needed urgent dermatology appointment and today one year later we went.

she agreed it was unusual in placement and listened to his history but then said what about his school bag? He’s 9 he carries if briefly to school each day. I looked at her kinda dumbstruck .. I said if this was being caused by a backpack what about Summer holidays and weekends when it’s not used … she just looked at me . While they have agreed to do a basic patch test ( no idea when it will be ) and wrote another prescription for more emolients and a stronger steroid there was no concern about the fact

it’s seasonal
doesn’t present like excema
it’s more like Hives and welts
only responds to steroids
no antihestime works
no previous allergy or excema in him or family
no pets or obvious triggers

I’m gonna attach a photo to show what it’s like at its very worst during a typical summer time flare , im just at my wits end . Ive had medical people say its excema then its not then maybe its allergy then maybe its a serious skin condition and now maybe its the school back pack. What would you do at this point

Also that rash/hives can appear red spotty lumpy itchy hot sore etc which is definitely a allergic reaction

Sugar does cause inflammation. I get inflammation from a disease and it's always worse when I've had too much sugar.

Do any of his grandparents have psoriasis?

I recommend baths with dead sea salt and keeping soap out of the water as much as possible. I also have a skin condition and that really helps me.

My DS had a terrible rash on his forearms and elbows and, occasionally, his back. Normal emollients didn’t help at all. We eventually consulted a dermatologist who pinned it down to an allergy to …. his gaming chair. The arms of the chair were coated in a particular rubbery substance that he is sensitive to.

We put steroids on his arms and he wore socks on his arms as he used the chair until we could replace it. Sometimes it is fabrics and substances that the child is coming into contact with that we don’t even consider.

I have chronic allergies per a dermatologist. Came out the blue around 30, started with itching blisters, sores and welts which would start on the palms of my hands/wrists and the soles of my feet, then would spread up my body if I didn't take something. Weird thing is I used to get water blisters on my hands as a child, and I think they are likely related. The dermatologist has resigned themself to "theres nothing to do except take antihistimines daily". Does your child take one every day at a set time or only during flare ups? If I do one every single day it works, if I don't, within 6 hours of missing a pill i'll be scratching like I have fleas. Apparently mine isn't even that bad of a case, so there are topical creams for more severe cases, or steriod injections. They mentioned that it was due to autoimmune issues, so maybe look into that. I excercise a lot and i've noticed that when it is hot, if i've exercised, if i'm stressed, or if I have hormone fluctuations they tend to come more. At one point I thought it was alcohol related, but cut that out and it made no difference. The doctor very much said nothing that I was eating/drinking could be causing it, which I didn't believe, but turned out to be true.

I disagree. My DH had a mystery neurological health condition for over 20 years. He saw MANY specialists and none had a clue what it was. When it became apparent that our DS had the same condition, I asked on Mumsnet for advice and got a diagnosis (later confirmed by doctors) within 2 minutes.

There is a wealth of knowledge on Mumsnet.

Looks like my son’s sun allergy. Did they try fexofenadine

I wonder if you got the same paediatric dermatologist that my son had. We both left wondering if she was a real doctor as she had no process that she followed, had never heard of the standard treatment that the gp prescribed and couldn’t explain what her suggested treatment or tests were actually for. She seemed to search them up on her computer but not really know what they were as we had to tell her that one of the things was the same as his current treatment but a different brand name. I did look her up afterwards and it appears she is qualified but she wasn’t on the hospital website. We are now stuck because we waited a year to see a specialist and don’t quite know what to do now. I hope she is maternity cover or temporary and we get someone else next time.

No idea about your son’s skin condition, but I sympathise with your situation.

Hi OP, I've had similar to this (sorry for my delayed reply). Allergies are generally a bit tricky and I had issues all my life. A bad year I had that is very to your poor ds, and scratching made it all worse and then I had pustules emerging. My body was reacting over and over again.

I took daily for a month fexafenodine and piriton but the key thing was that I was badly anaemic. Iron infusion solved it after a year of suffering. I suggest getting bloods done. Patch tests are OK but the blood test allergy testing is going to be more appropriate or should be done too. Patch test is for topical allergens (dyes, cream ingredients etc), but those inside your system needs a blood test.

Whatever you put on the skin should be light. Heavy moisturisers and oils retain the heat in the skin and make it worse.

I feel confident in saying that is not itchyosis as suggested to you at the private appointment. My son has had this condition since birth, it looks naff all like your pics and it doesn't come and go